General Care Discussion :: New Environment

[Juxtapose13]

Hello everyone,

I've presently had my red eared slider for 19 years. I keep her in a 50 gallon aquarium with the water temp set to 78 F and the ambient air temp ranges from 22 to 24 C. She basks regularly for varying lengths, depending on her mood that day. I have a Fluval 4 Plus filter that does the job, and depending on her activity level, her water needs a full changing every month or two. The filter itself usually needs changing roughly once a month.

For food, her diet is Goldfish/Koi pellets, Feeder Goldfish, and Earth Worms. I've been feeding her the same diet for about 17 years now. I've tried feeding her lettuce in the past, but she ignores it . I feed her in a smaller, separate aquarium which greatly lengthens the cleanliness of her primary aqurium's water.

Now, in April 2009 I moved from my parent's home to my own condo apartment, and over time I've noticed a few changes in her behaviour/health:

- The biggest change is with her shell. At my parent's home, she'd shed scales roughly once to twice a year, but now, not at all. In fact, her shell is looking a lot like Spot in SpotsMama's thread here: viewtopic.php?f=5&t=10839 . I now believe she has a fungus, and I'm first going to try drying and brushing her shell in iodine, which a vet recommended to me several years ago. If that proves unsuccessful, how would I go about getting Silver Sulfadiazine?

- In my new apartment, she always acts like she's starving, and she's a bit obese; always has been. I originally feed her 16 pellets, 2 feeder goldfish, and 2 earthworms a day. If I ran out of fish or worms, I'd substitute an additional 8 pellets per item until I could restock. As I've mentioned, she now acts like she's starving all the time, so I've increased her general quantity of pellets to 32 per day. No effect. She's also taken to eating her own droppings all the time, which has me a bit concerned. My research has revealed mixed answers, some saying this indicates a vitamin deficiency, others saying this is normal.


All of this started when I moved. It's the same aquarium, light, diet, etc. from when she was 100% healthy. The differences in the external environment, however:

- Instead of being on a 2nd floor, we now live on a 14th floor.
- My windows now face south instead of east (changes direct sunlight access). She does get direct sunlight, in addition to her light. She's basking right now in the light of each .
- My apartment is warmer and dryer than my parent's home is. It's a constant 22 to 24 C here year round, but the humidity levels change. During mid-fall and through the winter it's very dry here, and while I wasn't checking humidity levels at my parent's place, I believe it was generally more humid there.
- For the temp itself, my father keeps his home around 68 F in winter, and she would slow down and quasi-hibernate during these months on her raft. She no longer does this and is fully active year round.

That's it. My turtle is still very active and energetic. She still rubs her shell against things in her aquarium, mainly her filter, and on occasion a scale will come off, but usually not. I am concerned about her eating her droppings as well.

Thoughts?

Thank you, and happy holidays!

[steve]

Silver Sulfadiazine is a prescription medication, you'll need to get it from a vet. Do you have a UVB light?

RES are quite good at begging, but I would switch her to a reputable turtle pellet and some veggies. Skip the feeder fish entirely, cut down the pellets and try some aquatic plants.

Eating their poop is unfortunately normal... try to anticipate when they do so and scoop it out (my male RES usually sometimes poops about 5 minutes after feeding).

[Juxtapose13]

Silver Sulfadiazine is a prescription medication, you'll need to get it from a vet. Do you have a UVB light?

RES are quite good at begging, but I would switch her to a reputable turtle pellet and some veggies. Skip the feeder fish entirely, cut down the pellets and try some aquatic plants.

Eating their poop is unfortunately normal... try to anticipate when they do so and scoop it out (my male RES usually sometimes poops about 5 minutes after feeding).

I got this light nearly a decade ago and for the life of me, I can't recall. I believe so, but is there a way to confirm (labeled on the bulb, perhaps)?

Actually, I won't be feeding her turtle pellets as per my vet. 18 years ago, I had three turtles and two died due to malnutrition from turtle pellets and shrimp. I feed her trout pellets, feeder goldfish, and earth worms as per the vets recommended diet, and she's been fine for over 15 years.

Yeah, my turtle isn't "regular" in her habits, so it's hard to predict. If I see anything when I feed her at night though, I scoop it out.

Happy New Year!

[steve]

A fluorescent UVB light will stop producing UVB rays after 3-6 months and a self-ballasted mercury vapor bulb will stop producing it after around 12 months. They might still produce light but no UVB.